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Health department releases scores

May 31, 2013

The Bureau/Putnam County Health Department makes routine and unannounced visits each month to various food service establishments in Bureau and Putnam counties to inspect the operation.

Health inspectors use an identical scorecard at each facility, where they check for health code compliance in 45 areas. Each area carries a rating from one to five, with five being the most critical. Inspectors check the entire operations of the facility in 14 different categories, such as food protection, personnel and garbage and refuse disposal.

Beginning with a score of 100 points, the health inspector deducts one to five points for every violation. The final total is the facility’s inspection report score. A passing food inspection score is 65 or above.

At 65, the Bureau/Putnam County ordinance allows the health department to close an establishment, but a score doesn’t have to be that low for the department to close it. It depends on the number of critical and non-critical violations and the type of violations. Certain combinations can create a domino effect for food borne outbreaks.

All inspection reports are a matter of public record and can be seen at the Bureau County Health Department in Princeton.